Welcome to the Kenneth Spencer Research Library blog! As the special collections and archives library at the University of Kansas, Spencer is home to remarkable and diverse collections of rare and unique items. Explore the blog to learn about the work we do and the materials we collect.
Assorted sea creatures depicted in the map Nieuwe groote en seer Curieuse Paskaart van Gehell-Westindien… by Jan Sikkena, circa 1698-1715. Call Number: Orbis Maps 1:156. Click image to enlarge.
In May of this year, students and staff in the Conservation Lab undertook the ambitious project of rehousing the Spencer Library’s Orbis Maps collection. This collection includes more than one thousand maps that span centuries, forming a vibrant repository of our geographic landscape through time. Though there was much to explore, one of the most exciting parts of this project was the continual discovery of sea monsters, peppered in the blue of the earliest maps.
Assorted sea creatures depicted in the map America by Jodocus Hondius, circa 1609-1633. Call Number: Orbis Maps 1:33. Click image to enlarge.
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Though these sorts of depictions seem mystical to us, sea monsters were often included by mapmakers who were striving for scientific accuracy. Prior to the eighteenth century, seafaring legends heavily influenced what people knew of oceanic life. Sailors would return from their expeditions with tales of close brushes with vicious kraken, sirens, and serpents. Such beasts were then often included by mapmakers — a practice which, according to the Smithsonian, was an act of upholding the common understanding of that time.
A whale-like sea creature depicted in the map Americae sive novi orbis, nova descriptio, circa 1570-1600. Call Number: Orbis Maps 1:30. Click image to enlarge.
In many instances, sea monsters were inspired by animals that sailors might have come across, but perhaps not accurately seen. For example, in Orbis Maps 1:30, above, a whale-like creature swims through a gulf, with only small characteristics distinguishing it from the sea mammal we’ve come to know. In other cases, as with Orbis Map 1:5 (below), the sea monsters have virtually no bearing in reality and are altogether closer to the traditional monsters of myths and legends.
Nova totius terrarum orbis tabula Amstelaedami… by Frederik de Wit, [173-]. Call Number: Orbis Maps 1:5. Click image to enlarge.
These sea monsters are just a few of many that were found in the Orbis Maps collection. As the maps progressed through time, we observed the image of the world change to become more and more representative of what we have today, and sea monster numbers slowly dwindled as scientific knowledge became more absolute.
Three-headed sea monster depicted in the upper left corner of Nova totius terrarum orbis tabula Amstelaedami… by Frederik de Wit, [173-]. Call Number: Orbis Maps 1:5. Click image to enlarge.
The rehousing project for the Orbis Maps was completed on July 30th of this year and, overall, a total of sixteen maps were found to contain sea monsters like the ones shown here. These creatures, and many more delights from this collection, can be visited in the Spencer Research Library.
Check the blog each Friday for a new “That’s Distinctive!” post. I created the series because I genuinely believe there is something in our collections for everyone, whether you’re writing a paper or just want to have a look. “That’s Distinctive!” will provide a more lighthearted glimpse into the diverse and unique materials at Spencer – including items that many people may not realize the library holds. If you have suggested topics for a future item feature or questions about the collections, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this page.
This week on That’s Distinctive! I am sharing a book from Special Collections. The book, titled Flowers in Concrete, was written by Mary Ellen Solt and published in 1966. According to the Poetry Foundation, “Solt began writing concrete poetry in the 1960s and became a leader of the concrete poetry movement.” A post on the Getty’s Iris blog describes concrete poetry as a form of poetry where the poems are “composed of words, letters, colors, and typefaces, in which graphic space plays a central role in both design and meaning.” The Poets.org website describes concrete poetry as more than just poems; they are pieces of visual art. Concrete poems are meant to be viewed rather than read aloud.
While there is more to be seen than said when it comes to concrete poetry, I chose to highlight this item because I had never heard of a concrete poem before. Often, then one thinks of a poem, they think of the typical lines that tend to rhyme and tell a story. Concrete poems still tell a story but in a different way. I came across this book when Special Collections Curator Elspeth Healey was using it for a class. She took a moment to show the book to me and some students since we were intrigued. The book the library houses is copy 60 out of 100 printed. Solt signed and dated the title page of Spencer’s copy in February 1970. The library also holds a later limited-edition poster-sized portfolio version of Flowers in Concrete printed by lithography in 1969 (Call Number: R72). Below I am sharing just three examples of concrete poems from the book (zinnia, forsythia, and dogwood). The Poetry4Kids website has a great lesson on how to write a concrete poem.
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Selected pages from Flowers in Concrete by Mary Ellen Solt, 1966. Call Number: B12714. Click images to enlarge.
Check the blog each Friday for a new “That’s Distinctive!” post. I created this series to provide a lighthearted glimpse into the diverse and unique items at Spencer. “That’s Distinctive!” is meant to show that the library has something for everyone regardless of interest. If you have suggested topics for a future item feature or questions about the collections, you can leave a comment at the bottom of this page. All collections, including those highlighted on the blog, are available for members of the public to explore in the Reading Room during regular hours.
This week on That’s Distinctive! I am sharing a book from Special Collections. Special Collections holds a wide array of rare books and manuscripts from throughout time. The collection “presently holds about 250,000 volumes printed since the mid-fifteenth century and about 250,000 manuscripts dating from antiquity to the present.”
The book, titled Boy: Tales of Childhood, is an autobiography written by Roald Dahl and published in 1984. According to Wikipedia, the book “describes [Dahl’s] life from early childhood until leaving school, focusing on living conditions in Britain in the 1920s and 1930s, the public school system at the time, and how his childhood experiences led him to writing children’s books as a career.” Throughout the book are photos from Dahl’s life. The book was followed up by a second autobiography titled Going Solo.
In one chapter of the book, “The Bicycle and the Sweet-shop,” Dahl remarks on his time at a private school. Though he does not remember much about the Llandaff Cathedral School, Dahl has two distinct memories from his two years there. The first memory he mentions is that of a boy riding a bicycle when he suddenly zooms by pedaling backward and not holding the handlebars. He then wishes to himself that someday he could do the same. The second memory is that of walking home from school with his friends and stopping at a candy shop any time they had the funds. One of his friends would frequently tell tales of how the sweets were made.
I chose to highlight this book because it gives a glimpse into the author’s life in ways that regular children’s stories might not. I had not heard of the book before finding it in the library. I was simply looking for books by Roald Dahl and this title popped up. Many of Dahl’s children’s books bring back memories from my own childhood, whether it was wishing I had magic powers like Matilda or hoping Wonka’s chocolate factory could be real. Interestingly enough, Fantastic Mr. Fox is one of my favorite movies as an adult. I even have it on DVD, so it is readily available at all times.
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The front cover, inside front cover, back cover, table of contents of – and selected pages from – Boy: Tales of Childhood by Roald Dahl, 1984. Call Number: C25376. Click images to enlarge.
Check the blog each Friday for a new “That’s Distinctive!” post. I created this series to provide a lighthearted glimpse into the diverse and unique items at Spencer. “That’s Distinctive!” is meant to show that the library has something for everyone regardless of interest. If you have suggested topics for a future item feature or questions about the collections, you can leave a comment at the bottom of this page. All collections, including those highlighted on the blog, are available for members of the public to explore in the Reading Room during regular hours.
This week on That’s Distinctive! I am sharing a book from our children’s book collection. The children’s book collection was founded in 1953 and has been built largely through gifts to the library. The collection consists of over seven thousand children’s books from the late 18th to the early 20th centuries.
The book shared today, titled Tales of the Fairies, was written by Lewis Marsh and illustrated by Lilian A. Govey. Probably published in 1912, the book highlights fairy tales from various countries. Little can be found about the book online, but I stumbled upon it by searching terms for mythical creatures in the KU Libraries catalog. I chose to highlight this book over others for a couple of reasons. First, given the book’s condition, it is clear that it is quite old. Older books tend to grab my attention more because of the histories and stories they hold, both physically and metaphorically. My second reason was that the illustrations in the book are quite intriguing. The artistic style shifts from illustration to illustration, which adds variety to the book. Additionally, some illustrations are in color while others are grey and white.
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The front cover of – and selected pages from – Tales of the Fairies, circa 1912. Call Number: Children B2740. Click image to enlarge.
Check the blog each Friday for a new “That’s Distinctive!” post. I created the series because I genuinely believe there is something in our collections for everyone, whether you’re writing a paper or just want to have a look. “That’s Distinctive!” will provide a more lighthearted glimpse into the diverse and unique materials at Spencer – including items that many people may not realize the library holds. If you have suggested topics for a future item feature or questions about the collections, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this page.
This week on That’s Distinctive! I am sharing Not Paper by Peter and Donna Thomas. The book describes and contains paper-like materials that do not actually qualify as paper. It is “an adaptation of [the authors’] 1997 miniature book Almost Paper.” Spencer has copy #26 out of the 48 copies that were made.
A fun tidbit about Not Paper is that it is actually an artist’s book. According to Smithsonian Libraries, “an artist’s book is a medium of artistic expression that uses the structure or function of ‘book’ as inspiration—a work of art in book form.” The Oxford Companion to the Bookdescribes artists’ books as “both object and concept.” The 1960s brought a surge of artists’ books throughout Europe and much of the US. For many, this is the time artists’ books became classified as a distinct genre. There is no true definition of what makes an artist’s book though. Both the definition and history of how they came to be are heavily debated.
I had loosely heard about artists’ books in passing but had never really encountered one even during my time at Spencer Research Library (though we regularly have classes that visit to examine them). One day when putting out a call for blog ideas, the topic of artists’ books came up via one of the catalogers here at Spencer, and I thought I would do some searching. That is how I stumbled upon this particular book. I found it interesting because of how it is stored and thought it was intriguing that it is bound in an accordion style. In flipping through the book and learning about all these materials that are not technically paper, it made me think back to fifth grade when we made “paper” one day in science class. It was a neat experience that has stuck with me since. My experience with finding this book has definitely made me want to dig deeper and see the different artists’ books we have in Special Collections.
You can find Spencer artists’ books by searching the KU Libraries online catalog in a couple of different ways. One option is to set the drop-down field menu to “subject” and use the search term “Artists’ books–Specimens.” Or, to get an even larger number of results, set the drop-down field menu to “any field” and use the search term “artists’ books” (in quotation marks) with the search term “specimens.”
The front cover (right) and housing (left) of Not Paper by Peter & Donna Thomas, 2010. Call Number: C21287. Click image to enlarge.
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The title page of – and selected pages from – Not Paper by Peter & Donna Thomas, 2010. Call Number: C21287. Click images to enlarge.
![Full view of the map Nova totius terrarum orbis tabula Amstelaedami...by Frederik de Wit, [173-]. Call Number: Orbis Maps 1:5.](https://blogs.lib.ku.edu/spencer/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Orbis-Maps-1.5-B.png)
